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…yet they tell us they are ill-equipped and under-prepared, according to new research by Vermont Works for Women

WINOOSKI, VT –Vermont Works for Women released a report on Tuesday, April 30 at the Vermont State House in Montpelier, revealing that many young women across the state consider themselves ill-equipped and under-prepared for the challenges of school, work, career, economic independence, and ultimate adulthood.

The report, which incorporates national research and references best practices, is entitled, “ENOUGH SAID – Young Women Talk about School, Work and Becoming Adults: Why We Should Listen and What We Can Do.” It is the result of in-depth interviews, surveys, and listening to more than 210 young women and girls, ages 15-25, from 28 communities, Brattleboro to St. Johnsbury, the majority from families of limited financial means. (Please access the summary and full report here.)

The report provides a qualitative snapshot of the current concerns that young women in Vermont hold, which focused in these primary areas: 1) lack of practical skills related to personal finance; 2) fears around how to live independently; 3) relational aggression among female peers; 4) few personal allies or networks to provide support; 5) minimal exposure to a broad range of careers and professional female role models; and 6) limited expectations for work that taps into talent and passion.

Responding to these findings, more than 25 business, government and community leaders from across the state (in attendance at the 4/30 press conference) have committed to participate in a newly formed Task Force on Young Women and the Economy, understanding the vital relationship between the work/career success of young women and the state’s economic potential (see attached list of task force members).

Former Ambassador Linda Tarr-Whelan, of Burlington, a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Demos and author of the award-winning book, Women Lead the Way: Your Guide to Stepping Up to Leadership and Changing the World, will chair the task force. She will be assisted by vice chairs: Cary Brown, Executive Director, Vermont Commission on Women; Joyce Judy, President, Community College of Vermont; and Barbara Murphy, President, Johnson State College.

The task force will convene on Wednesday, May 29th with a clear six-month charge to develop a series of “commitments and partnerships.” More specifically, the group will identify effective efforts already in place; determine where combined and complimentary resources and expertise can address the needs articulated by these young women; and recommend strategic investments in programming, or changes in policy or priorities. The group’s commitments will be announced publicly in December 2013 before the start of the next legislative session.

“ENOUGH SAID has hit a nerve with both men and women in leadership roles across the state,” said Tiffany Bluemle, Executive Director, Vermont Works for Women, the task force convener, “and we look forward to working with the task force in the coming months. Our focus on young women shouldn’t be interpreted to suggest that boys or young men don’t face many of the same challenges. But the choices that young women make determine their future earning potential – and, as the report makes clear, women in Vermont and in the United States, across age and educational levels, are nearly twice as likely as men to live in poverty. Vermont will only reach its full economic potential if all Vermonters – including women and girls — can live up to theirs.”

Vermont Works for Women is a nonprofit organization founded in 1987 to help women and girls recognize their potential, and explore, pursue, and excel in work that leads to economic independence. Through innovative programming, VWW assists women and girls in thinking about their lives in the broadest terms and helps them develop skills and capacities critical to their long-term economic self-sufficiency. For more information: www.vtworksforwomen.org.

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